The critically acclaimed Final Fantasy 14 has been a PlayStation console exclusive for over a decade. Meanwhile, Xbox gamers have been left in the dust, unable to enjoy the fantastical MMO action that PS5 players have experienced. However, ever since Microsoft and Square Enix revealed a FF14 Xbox port at the game’s Fan Fest 2023 event we’ve been eagerly waiting for an official release date. Well, it’s time to mark your calendars, as the Final Fantasy 14 Xbox beta date is scheduled to begin “on or around” Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
While the original 2010 release of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn was intended to arrive on Xbox 360, it never actually materialized. This meant that the popular MMO was effectively a PlayStation and PC exclusive. Revealed during the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest 2024 in Tokyo, the FF14 Xbox beta release date of late February means that Xbox Series X|S players only have just over a month of waiting left before they can play one of the best multiplayer games. Luckily, this will be an open beta, which means that all Xbox players will be welcome to download the game and hop right in – no purchase required.
This will come as no surprise to those of you with some experience with FF14, as the game already has an expansive free trial on PS5, PS4, and PC. The free trial, which will continue once the MMO launches on Xbox, lets you play through the base game (A Realm Reborn), and the Heavensward and Stormblood expansions. Players can reach level 70 with no restriction on playtime. That’s a lot of content to dig into at no extra cost, so Xbox gamers should be prepared to get lost in the world of Eorzea for quite some time.
The full FF14 Xbox release date is still slated for a Spring 2024 launch, before the highly anticipated Dawntrail expansion in the summer. Plus, thanks to a PS5 next-gen update, FF14 now looks and runs better than ever on console. With FF14 coming to Xbox alongside the news that Xbox Game Pass added 150 games worth $5,000 in 2023, it’s safe to say it’s a good time to be on team green.
Thanks to the extensive crossplay support inherent in FF14, Xbox players will join over 27 million players exploring Eorzea worldwide on PS5, PS4, and PC already. This is great news when it comes to keeping dungeon queues and the like populated. Likewise, with cross-save between PlayStation and PC already available, it’s expected that existing players will be able to transfer their account to Xbox without losing any progression. You will, however, have to repurchase any expansions you’ve already bought on other platforms as the license is tied to the account you purchased it on, though the subscription works across all platforms.
New updates have also been announced on the highly anticipated Dawntrail expansion set to release in Summer 2024. FF14 director Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida notes: “I want to get this out as early in summer as possible, but please for now just remember summer generally, just in case.” Nevertheless, with a new race, two new jobs (and one limited job), stunning new environments to explore, new dungeons and raids, new lifestyle content, and even a graphical update, there’s a lot on the horizon. We’re particularly excited about the Pictomancer job arriving in the expansion, which Xbox players will get to enjoy as well, which takes down enemies by weaving paintings into reality. If that’s not cool, then we don’t know what is.
So, strap in and get ready for what is likely to be one of the best Xbox games once it releases. Though we may have been waiting for an Xbox release for well over a decade, there’s still a bit more patience required, so check out the new Xbox games you can dig into while you wait. There’s also a stockpile of the best Xbox Game Pass games to check out to help tide you over.